Abstract:
Adolescents’ early sexual debut contributes to their huge burden of sexual
and reproductive ill-health, especially in sub-Saharan African countries.
Reports continually reveal that adolescents in general, and female
adolescents in particular, constitute a large portion of the 34 million people
living with HIV worldwide. Other consequences associated with early
adolescent sexuality include unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and
sexually-transmitted infections. Whilst international human rights
instruments and national legislation recognise the importance of considering
the adolescent child’s evolving capacities, this becomes contentious when
adolescents’ access to contraceptive information and services and other
sexual and reproductive health issues are involved. The article examines
Nigeria’s and South Africa’s national legislation regarding adolescent girls’
right to independently access and consent to confidential contraceptive
information and services in accordance with the recognition of their
evolving capacities provided for under international human rights law. We
argue that a major impediment to adolescent girls’ contraceptive use relates
to the assumption that they are incapable of making rational decisions or of
consenting to sexual and reproductive health care services without parental
Involvement. The article concludes that allowing adolescent girls to consent
independently, especially when accessing contraceptive information and
services, is a necessary step in achieving increased adolescent contraceptive
use, so affirming their evolving capacity in decision-making.
